I’m only allowed 800 words for this space. For my January column, my first draft overshot, and I had to cut over 600 words. That’s always the problem, but it leads to a better product if I’m forced to narrow the focus and only develop that one point.

So here are some scraps that ended up discarded like pieces on the floor of my garage workshop.

One of my points was that doing anything we want, engaging in any activity we want, with unlimited movement and choices and time … This to me seems like a very small life.

We may think that freedom is the throwing off of all restraints and we should be allowed to do whatever we want at any time because rules and demands are for slaves.

Here are some rhetorical questions that didn’t make it in. Questions about someone, say, Chris.

Is Chris free when tempted to eat that high-fat, sugary dessert even while she knows the calorie bomb will surge triglycerides in her blood to dangerous levels? Is she free to say no?

Or is she its slave?

Can she refrain from sharing that juicy gossip about one of her coworkers and give in to the magnetic pull to have a good story to entertain the group? Will she share, in betrayal, some intimacy with the ones present at the expense of another who’s absent?

Is Chris free to calm himself and not lash out in anger at the person who tossed a triggering comment his way?

Is he free when snared by ubiquitous porn on the internet even though he knows it wrecks our brains, destroys relationships, and fuels abuse and sex trafficking?

Dr. Marcus Warner in his book “Slaying the Monster, Six Battle Strategies for Overcoming Pornography” says, “Freedom is not defined by what you are permitted to do, but by what you have control over.”

Who is the slave?

The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:27 says, “I will buffet my body.” (That’s not, “I’m off to the All You Can Eat Buffet at Big Joe’s Diner to buffet my body again tonight.”) He says I will buffet my body (discipline it with hard tasks like an elite athlete) and make IT my slave. Self-control leads to freedom.

Maybe we’re stuck in a religious system that makes endless demands. One that says that you must comply or else. You must behave. You must complete these tasks. You must earn your place. Is that freedom? No, that’s a recipe for a fear-based life, not one grounded in joy.

Paul says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Gal 5:1).

On the other hand, we find freedom through submission to a holy God.

In Psalm 119: 44-45, the writer says that he will listen carefully to God’s instructions. “I will live in perfect freedom because I try to obey your teachings.”

Now that’s antithetical to our current culture.

This leads to freedom: Submitting to Truth, to God’s guidance in humble obedience gives me the ability to cast aside my drive to satisfy my craving for joy in all the wrong places. It gives me freedom from insecure attachments. And not just freedom “from,” but freedom “for.”

For love. Another point I wanted to make was that true freedom exists where love is paramount. Our modern approach to freedom is very self-focused. Love for others should be the motivation, goal, and result of freedom.

Paul also says that though he is free and belongs to no one, he has made himself a slave to everyone, to serve them, to win them over, to love them.

As usual, these things always come back to the importance of relationships, to The Relationship. We find internal freedom by choosing an outward-focused life, by valuing love over self.

True freedom exists where self-control and wisdom saturate our decisions and actions.

Where does the freedom to say no to destructive habits and addictions come from? From a calm strength that is rooted in joy. Joy is relational. Actions that damage our relationships damage our freedom.

Freedom is found in hope. We believe that our present sufferings, struggles, and distresses are but temporary and will eventually be alleviated. This gives us the ability to persevere.

The Bible does not promise a life without difficulty.

Jesus says in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Ah, I have to be done now as I’m back to my maximum word count and I still have 650 words in my scrap pile for next time. Maybe if I hadn’t wasted so many words on.